Blatant racism in European countries, on-going Russia-Ukraine war and India's bold stand

 Across the globe the threat of  COVID -19 pandemic has  not yet come down to a  safer level  and before people could give a sigh of relief another threat is   facing us. The serious conflicts between Ukraine, once part of  USSR (Russia) and Russia have created  dark clouds over Europe. It may be a precursor to change of new global power axis or new global order. 

The major war now  going on  between Russia on one hand  and Ukraine on the other  being supported by  European powers besides the US has created a dangerous situation.  The Russians' intention was clear and forthright and their  sole aim   was  to destroy more than 1600 military bases in that country which otherwise would  be used by the US in case Ukraine became part of NATO. Russia captured most of  the  cities in Ukraine and destroyed most of the bases, yet  the adamant stance of the irresponsible and immature  President of  Ukraine  coupled with supply of  strategic military weapons from the US and other European countries  has now   pushed  the war farther into threats of  activating nuclear missiles by the Russians. This  serious issue could have been solved through a few rounds of peace-talk. But, the unfortunate fact is  the US and other NATO countries instead of reducing the intention, have added fuel to the fire. 

According many media reports if you go back, on the  recent  history the  USA in the name of the guardian of freedom and free speech, and to maintain their supremacy   poked its nose into many  countries' internal affairs using the pretext of  ''democracy and  human rights violations '' At the fag end of failed mission  US left the countries  in the lurch - stranded leaving their economy in shambles. The recent example is Afghanistan which was taken over by Taliban. In the past the Bush  and Obama administration destroyed Iraq and Libya respectively using the same excuses. Considering Ukraine's proximity to Russia, the western powers  are anxious  to make Ukraine part of NATO. They know very well this will anger Russia, hence they are instigating the present puppet regime.


Ukraine, having regained  its independence in 1991, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, has been keen to join the European club and the NATO. According to Russia the latter political stance taken by Ukraine and the US becoming a military alley  will be  a threat to Russia's military and internal  security.  The US  has been eying on Ukraine, the most populous and industrialized country which is  geographically adjacent to Russia. It is easy for the US politicians  to counter the hegemony of Russia  in this part.  

Russia, when moving over to Ukraine to  destroy the bases  at the start of war in February 2022, already warned the civilians  to vacate the  cities to  avoid  death and injuries. Caught in the war-torn zone are  international college  students including  roughly 18000 to 20000 Indian students  and  most of  them are studying medicine in Ukraine. The serious conflicts have created a refugee crisis and the students and the Ukrainians   are  fleeing  to  safer  places. Indian Govt. already  advised the students to reach the closest border country so that they could be picked up by the Indian diplomats for safe journey back home from the  unexpected war zone. As of today  roughly 12000 students were  safely brought back home  from Ukraine. 

India under the PM Motiji took the right decision  and along with China and other countries had  abstained from voting on the draft resolution that “deplored” Russia’s “aggression against Ukraine.” This has angered the Ukrainian government and also the US.

In the  war-torn country, the fleeing refugees face all kinds of problems because of mass exodus. The  treatment meted out to the fleeing non-white people by  the bordering countries at check-points  has angered the Indians,  Africans and Arabs. The international media journalists went one step further and   openly presented their  biased reports with an undercurrent racial mentality by sympathizing with the white refugees overlooking the plight of non-whites.  Non-white people were allowed to cross the border only after white people. 

google.com/Ukraine+using+Indian+students

Ukraine representative Sergiy Kyslytsya opindia.com
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On February 25, 2022  speaking at the UNSC emergence session, the Ukrainian Ambassador to United Nations Sergiy Kyslytsya issued a subtle threat by saying countries that abstained from voting should have thought before making a decision. It is a blatant threat to India and other countries   for abstaining from voting against Russia at UNSC.   Without naming India, and other  abstaining countries, the undiplomatic  Ukrainian Ambassador said, “It is exactly the safety of your nationals in Ukraine that you should be the first to vote to stop the war to save your nationals in Ukraine, and not to think that you should vote or not vote.”

Obviously, it was a warning to the Indian government on the floor of an International forum  by  the  arrogant Ukrainian diplomat that 'if India does not support Ukraine in the conflict with Russia, it will use  Indian students as hostages and  then it would be tough for them to evacuate the stranded students in the war-torn country'. 

Ukraine map. bbc.com


India under the PM Motiji took the right decision. Despite indirect threats from the US,  India abstained from voting against Russia because ''our country's interests are more important than others''. This would provide a apace for the warring countries to initiate peace talk.  Violence and hostilities will cause a grave situation. What the US and other European countries are doing is they are adding fuel to the towering inferno.  The subtle reality is these countries can sell more arms to Ukraine and do good business. 

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As far as Ukraine is concerned  it  has a lousy relationship with India, particularly in the matter of Kashmir. Further Ukraine supplied powerful tanks to Pakistan, which is haven for terrorists.  On several diplomatic issues  at the UN it has been consistently against India. 


Bernard Shah, en.wikiquote.org

Above image:  Racism had its roots in Europe, particularly in Britain. Britain had a large number of slave traders in the 18th and early 19th  centuries and they  made huge fortune out of human suffering, death and metal agony.  Irish satirist George Bernard Shaw said about the British (to whom racism is part of their legacy): "There is nothing so bad or s or so good that you will not find Englishmen doing it; but y will never find an Englishman in the wrong. He does everything principle.........He fights you on patriotic principles; he robs you on business principles; he enslaves you on imperial principles; he bullies you on many principles;  he supports his king on loyal principles and cuts off his  king's head on republican principles. His watchword is always duty."

The Indians during the colonial days  under the British  were accustomed to racial disparity and discrimination.   On a visit to India along with his wife in 1933,  Bernard Shaw  became  angry   upon  seeing  a  sign  on  a Yacht  club near  Taj  Hotel, Mumbai that  said, "Reserved exclusively for the  white  people  only."    He  remarked  angrily, "It   was   nothing  short  of  snobbery  to  have  a  club  exclusively  reserved   for  the  use  of  the  white  people  in  a  land  of  colored  people"...................................... 

In this on-going war in Europe,  racism has  raised its ugly head.  In the refugee crisis, when  non-white people from Asia  and Africa were escaping  to  reach the  bordering countries, the official and international media covering the refugees   exposed a deep-rooted racist  mentality of  European policy which ''excludes and discriminates against non-European ethnicities,'' Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said in a statement on Wednesday.

Racism was on the mind of  security personnel in Ukraine and Poland.  As for European politicians and journalists, their attitude toward non-whites was quite appalling  in a crisis situation. No empathy and no compassion, what matter is your race and skin color.   That  racism and  and disparity of treatment based on   color, and religion against the fleeing  non-white refugees is quite disgusting and  ought to be condemned in the international forum.  This type of colonial hangover still persists in Modern Europe.  

Euro-Med Monitor's team viewed testimonies and videos showing that the Polish border guards follow discriminatory policy against non-Europeans, by impeding the crossing of Africans while allowing Ukrainians to cross and providing them with food and first aid.  ''Black and brown refugees are once again being turned away in Europe amid Ukraine migrant crisis'', according to USA today report.

istockphoto.com/

Indians, like  Arabs and Africans   residing in Ukraine,  faced  differential treatment and   difficulties when fleeing the country, as they were not allowed to board the trains, they openly gave preference to lily-white  Ukrainians over non-whites;  Ukrainians were allowed to cross first. What is quite annoying is that the racist mentality permeated at the higher official  level. For example   Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said: "These people are intelligent, they are educated people.... This is not the refugee wave we have been used to, people we were not sure about their identity, people with unclear pasts, who could have been even terrorists."


 No doubt the European  journalism has now  stooped to the lowest level. Often   most reporters used  a racist discourse, impressing on the international  TV audience that  Ukrainian refugees are ''civilized, unlike refugees from the Middle East and North Africa' 'unjustifiably classifying them as  terrorists and uncivilized.


The American major net works  did not lag behind,  for instance, Charlie D' Agata, CBS's foreign correspondent, said on TV: "This isn't a place, with all due respect, like Iraq or Afghanistan, that has seen conflict raging for decades... This is a relatively civilized, relatively European --- I have to choose those words carefully, too --- city, where you wouldn't expect that or hope that it's going to happen."


The BBC hosted the former Ukrainian Deputy Prosecutor, David Sakvarelidze, who said: "It's very emotional for me because I see European people with blue eyes and blonde hair being killed, children being killed every day by [Russian President] Putin's missiles, helicopters, and rockets."

All these statements by the European reporters  expose the hidden facts  with respect to race and ethnic differentiations. Why this double standard when  dealing with humanitarian issues  by the European countries?  This blatant skin and hair color differentiation  indicates  erosion of  human value and dignity  when dealing with non-white population in a crisis situation in a white country. This colonial hangover is not yet dead. 

https://navrangindia.blogspot.com/2015/04/bernard-shaws-indian-visit-1933-and-his.html

https://m.timesofindia.com/edit-page/black-and-white/articleshow/1640425.cms

https://www.opindia.com/2022/02/ukraine-ambassador-students-leverage-india-unsc-vote-russia/

 https://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/europes-official-media-handling-ukrainian-crisis-exposes-deep-rooted-racist-policy

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2022/03/03/ukraine-refugee-crisis-racism-european-union/9329667002/?gnt-cfr=1